The Bay Area is in for some much-needed rain and if the forecast holds true, we could be getting a lot wetter than we can handle.
Sunday will begin dry but the storm doors will open by the afternoon.
A series of storms are pointed directly at the Bay Area, bringing heavy rain Sunday night into Monday and through Tuesday morning. And that's only the beginning of what looks to be a very wet week.
A brief break Tuesday night will soon be forgotten, as the rain will pick up and be heavy again Wednesday evening through Friday. By next Friday, we will have several inches of rain to measure not only in the hills, but also in the lower areas. Rainfall totals may be close to 7 to 10 inches of rain from the lower areas to the hills. This storm could also pack quite a punch in the form of wind.
The massive amount of rain paired with heavy wind could spell disaster for areas burned during summer wildfires. With the ground already saturated by the second round of storms, mudslides and floods are real possibilities. The results of this storm could look a lot like New Year's Day 2006, when local rivers overspilled banks and toppled trees, trapping residents and knocking out power to thousands.
The second round of storms coming Tuesday-Friday will be colder so we will get several feet of snow in the Sierra. Maybe some snow in the Bay Area Hills as well, especially Thursday and Friday.
Weather experts will be watching the rivers closely and you can too, with a few clicks of the mouse.
Check out this excellent link to follow the rivers. Just put your mouse over the dot and a window will pop up with critical information. On the right side of the screen you'll see the flood stage for each river as you place your mouse over the dot. The dot will be GREEN if all is okay with that river, YELLOW as we need to start monitoring and RED if we are flooding!
Here is another link to help monitor the rivers hour by hour. And another link for Marin County smaller streams.
Stay tuned to NBC Bay Area and come back often for more updates as this round of soakers barrels our way.
